Call by lob' for Divine Justice, Biblical Works'
Major Profundities, Told in New Anchor Book

Doubleday-published Anchor
volumes already have attracted
deserved worldwide attention. The
volumes that have appeared so far
have added to scholarship, creating
added interest in biblical lore and
in the translations already extant
as contrasted with the Anchor
texts.
"Job," the newest of the Anchor
Bible books to make their appear-
ance, was translated by Dr. Marvin
H. Pope, professor of Northwest
Semitic languages at Yale Univer-
sity. It is a work so rich in con-
tent, so voluminously annotated, so
splendidly analyzed, that the work
has earned the designation as a
classic.
The translation itself is worth
studying comparatively. It offers
an interesting view of the Christ-
ian scholar's approach as contras-
ted with that of the Jewish trans-
lators. Thus, a well known phrase
calls for special notice. Job 13.15
is translated as follows in the Jew-
ish Publication Society's text:
Though he slay me, yet will I
trust Him;
But I will argue my ways before
111m.
Prof. Pope, however, gives the
famous quotation this translation:
He may slay me, I'll not quaver.
I will defend my conduct to his
face.
Or, take as an added example the
42nd chapter, verses 2-4: in the
JPS translation we read:
I know that Thou cant do every
thing.
And that no purpose can be with-
holden from Thee.
Who is this that hideth counsel
without knowledge?
Therefore have I uttered that
which I understand not,
Things too wonderful for me,
which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech Thee, and I will
speak;
I will demand of Thee, and
declare Thou unto me.
In Dr. Pope's translation we read
these sentences as:
I know that you can do all things,
No purpose of yours can be
thwarted.
Who is this who obscures
counsel without knowledge?
I talked of things I did not know,
Wonders beyond my ken.
Listen, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you
tell me.
Note the utter simplicity. Note
that the divine name is not capital-
ized in Dr. Pope's.
Translation-wise, the new Anchor
"Job" edition offers a study in
itself. It is a challenging work, and
it may well be watched carefully
by those who are working on the

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revised translation of the Prophets
and Writings for JPS. However, the
commentary in Dr. Pope's introduc-
tion, his analytical explanations,
his development of an interesting
theme, make the Anchor "Job"
stand out as an unusually expert
addition to biblical literature.
At the very outset, Prof Pope
declares: "The vehement pro-
tests of the supposedly patient
Job will surprise and even shock
any who expect to find the tra-
ditional patient and pious suf-
ferer throughout. In spite of
sporadic attempts of ancient
scribes and translators to soften
the impact of the near blas-
phemous tirades, the fact can-
not be mistaken that Job blunt-
ly calls into question divine . jus-
tice and providence."
The noted Yale University schol-
ar who approached his subject with
great skill, who was cautious to
avoid errors, notes in his empha-
sis is that the biblical hero pro-
tested against injustice:
"Job urges close attention to his
words. He feels justified in his
complaint against God. He gives the
lie to the assertion of his friends,
pointing to the undisturbed pros-
perity of the wicked. The argument
that God punishes the children of
the wicked is no answer to the dif-
ficulty. Death comes alike to all,
without regard to one's merits.
The wicked escape disaster and
go in peace to their death. The
`comfort' and 'answers' of the
friends are false."
Viewing the literary quality
of "Job," Dr. Pope declares that
as a unit it must be considered
as "sui generis."
As to the dating of the work, he
states, after thoroughly reviewing
many factors: "The seventh cen-
tury BCE seems the best guess for
the date of the Dialogue." He ex-
presses the hope that "discoveries
and researches in the not too dis-
tant future will make possible more
confident and precise estimates."
As to authorship, Dr. Pope holds
the view that "virtually all bibli-
cal books are composite in some
degree, as were 'most literary pro-
ductions of the ancient Near East,"
and he concludes:
"The author of the Book of
Job cannot be precisely placed

Humane Slaughter Bill
in N.Y. Legislature;
Cleared by Orthodox

ALBANY (JTA) — A bill to out-
law inhumane handling of food
animals prior to their slaughter,
previously cleared with Orthodox
Jewish leaders, was introduced
here Monday with the backing of
the American'Society for the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Animals.
Thus far, there has been no
formal position taken on the bill
by most Jewish organizations,
which are expected to act on the
issue later this month.
The measure offers "an eco-
nomical, defensible and persuasive
law" to eliminate two features of
slaughterhouse practice — the
shackling and hoisting of con-
scious large beef animals in
preparation for slaughter, and the
use of . manually operated ham-
mers, sledges and pole axes, the
ASPCA said in a memorandum
accompanying the bill. The asso-
ciation said it felt that the pro-
posed bill, which would go into
effect Jan. 1, 1966, overcomes - the
objections that have led to the de-
feat of more than a dozen humane
slaughter measures in the legisla-
ture since 1959.

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temporally or geographically,
but this is of no great conse-
quence for he speaks to and for
all humanity about a problem
that has perplexed thinking and
feeling men in all times and
places."
Textual problems and the lan-
guage of the boOk are studied in-
terestingly. Having turned for
factual data to scholars in many
areas, Dr. Pope points out: "The
original language of Job, according
to (N.H.) Tur-Sinai (H. Torczyner),
is Babylonian Aramaic of the sixth
century BCE, and the incomplete
translation into Hebrew was made
in Palestine some generations
later."
Turning to Problems of Prosody,
Dr. Pope asserts: "The line between
poetry and prose is sometimes
rather difficult to draw and it will
be noted that some parts of the
Prologue have been arranged as
poetry although the characteristic
parallelism is absent."
Of added interest is Dr. Pope's
comment that "in spite of the
parallels between Job and Pro-
metheus and other Greek trage-
dies, there is no compelling evi-
dence of direct interdependence."
He rates "Job" as falling in the
category of Wisdom Literature in
Old Testament affinities.
"Viewed as a whole," Prof. Pope
declares, "the book presents pro-
fundities surpassing those that may
be found in any of its parts. The
issues raised are crucial for all men
and the answers attempted are as
good as have ever been offered.
The . . . . ultimate Force, the
Source and. End of all things, is
inexorable. Against it there is no
defense. Any hope a man may put
in anything other than this First
and Last One is vain. There is
nothing, else that abides. This is
God. He gives and takes away.
From Him we come and to Him
we return. Confidence in this One
is the only value not subject to
time."
In this vein we are . presented
with a magnificent evaluation of
one of the great books of the
Bible by a specialist in the field
of Ugaritic philosophy who is
particularly interested r in the
languages, literature -and archae-
ology of the Old Testament.
Dr. Pope is a native of Durham,
N.C. He received his B.A. and M.A.
degrees from Duke University, stu-
died at Yale, from 1939 to 1941
and 1945 to 1946, and received his
Ph.D. from Yale in 1949.
He was a fellow of the Ameri-
can School of Oriental Research in
Jerusalem in 1946 and director of
that school in 1959-60. From 1947
to 1949 he was an instructor in the
department of religion at Duke
University, came to Yale as an
assistant professor of Hebrew
lenguages and literature in 1949,
and was promoted to associate
professor in 1955 and to professor'
in 1964.
Dr. Pope served in the U.S.
Army Air Force from 1941 to 1945
and was assigned to stations in
Australia, New Guinea, New Bri-
tain, and the Philippines during
that period.
He is a member of the American
Oriental Society, the Society on Re-
ligion in Higher Education, the
American Society for the Study of
Religions, and the Society of Bibli:
cal Literature.
Author of a monograph, "El in
the Ugaritic Texts," he has also
written on the Ugaritic Language
and mythology.
He is married to the former
,Helen Thompson, and is the father
of two children. His home is 250 W.
Rock Ave., New Haven, Conn.

Jewish View of Peace and War

By

RABBI WALTER H. PLAUT

Temple Emanuel, Great Neck, N.Y.

The Jewish attitude toward
peace is two-pronged. Peace is the
great and glorious ideal of our
faith: "Nation shall not lift up
sword against nations," and God
is Ose Hashalom, the Giver of
Peace. But Jewish tradition has
never maintained that peace be
preserved at all costs. War some-
times is the only way evil can be
removed: Hanukah, Purim, Bar
Kokhba's rebellion are examples.
God is also Ish Hamilchama, the
Lord of War.

South to Host Parley
of American Jewish
Press Association

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (JTA)—The
American Jewish Press Association
will hold its 22nd anniversary con-
vention at Atlanta, May 20-23, Mor-
ris Janoff, publisher of the Jewish
Standard here, and president of the
organization, announced.
The convention will be the first
held in the South by the organiza-
tion of English-Jewish weekly
newspaper publishers and editors.
Serving as hosts will be the five
Southern member papers: the
Southern Israelite, of Atlanta; the
Jewish Floridian, of Miami; the
Nashville (Tenn.) Observer; the
Texas Jewish Post, of Ft. Worth-
Dallas; and the Hebrew Watch-
man, of Memphis, Tenn.
Philip Slomovitz, editor and pub-
lisher of the Detroit Jewish News,
and founder of the organization,
will lead the publishers in discns-
sion of newspaper problems. In ac-
cordance with custom, the members
of the association will observe the
week as National Jewish Press
Week.
A feature of the convention will
be a dinner at the Atlanta Jewish
Community Center, jointly cele-
brating the 40th anniversary of the
Southern Israelite and the Hebrew
Watchman.

It is far more accurate to say
Judaism urges peace but is not
pacifist, that under certain condi-
tions it sanctions military action
but is not militarist. Judaism re-
jects out of hand the dismal choice
of Either Red or Dead. Jewish tra-
dition says you do not surrender
to a way of life that is abhorrent
(that would be evil), but it also
says you do not engage in ventures
that may mean total annihilation
if there are still innumerable al-
ternatives (that would be im-
moral).
Judaism's classic position would
call for a third attitude: Neither
Red nor Dead.

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